Ellsworth, Maine - The Grand’s film program of documentary and independent films, CineGrand, continues with the independent film smash, “Sleepwalk with Me” screening on Wednesday, October 10th through Friday October 12th at 7 pm with a 2pm matinee on Wednesday October 10th.

Mike Birbiglia plays “Mike Birbiglia” an aspiring stand-up who fails to express his true feelings about his girlfriend and his stalled career and finds his anxiety coming out in increasingly funny and dangerous sleepwalking incidents. Winner of a 2012 Audience Award at Sundance, comedian Birbiglia co-wrote, directed and stars in this sincere and hilarious film based on his off-Broadway show and bestselling book. It's also the first movie co-written by Ira Glass and co-produced by "This American Life."

So share the experience of a film Stephen Holden of The New York Times calls “an unvarnished portrait of the kill-or-be-killed stand-up comedy world’s lower echelon injected with visual pizazz”, as “Sleepwalk with Me” screens at The Grand on Wednesday, October 10th through Friday October 12th at 7 pm with a 2pm matinee on Wednesday October 10th as well.

Tickets are available at The Grand box office (667-9500) or online at www.grandonline.org. General Admission tickets are $7, while Seniors are $6 and Members are $5.

CineGrand continues at The Grand with “Sharing the Stories- the 2nd Annual Maine LGBT Film Festival” running from Friday October 19th through Sunday October 21st.

Thomaston, Maine - Trekkers, a nonprofit outdoor-based youth mentoring organization, is holding the second annual Trekkers Auction on Saturday, November 3 at the Owls Head Transportation Museum. Admission and paddle registration are free.

The auction preview will begin at 6:00pm, followed by the live and silent auction from 6:30-8:30pm. The event also will include a dessert buffet for $5 per plate. Auctioneer John D. Bottero, Vice President of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, is generously donating his services for the evening.

Some of the choice items are a six-day African safari for two, including lodging, all meals and two daily game viewing activities as well as a Port Clyde Stay & Play package, including a weeklong summer cottage rental for eight in Port Clyde, two Monhegan Boat Line cruises, and two sea kayaking tours from Port Clyde Kayaks.

Serving 160 middle and high school students in RSU #13 each year, Trekkers is holding the auction as a benefit fundraiser for students. All proceeds will be directly applied to students’ program fees. Trekkers’ yearlong programming culminates in a 3-14 day educational expedition within the continental United States.

About Trekkers:
Trekkers is a non-profit outdoor-based mentoring program focused on connecting young people with caring adults through expeditionary learning, community service and adventure-based education. Trekkers serves the communities of St. George, Owls Head, Cushing, South Thomaston, Thomaston, and Rockland. Seventh through twelfth grade students meet throughout the year to design their expedition around five educational components: community service, cultural awareness, wilderness exploration, environmental awareness and adventure-based education.

Rockland, Maine - The Oceania cruise ship Regatta payed Rockland a visit on Friday, September 28th on it's way to Montreal, Canada. Regatta passengers had time to get off the boat for sightseeing. Passengers had the chance to tours of the area aboard chartered buses as well as All Aboard Trolley for historic tours of the beautiful coastal Maine city of Rockland .Schooner Bay Taxi also provides individual tours of the area and were available to take passengers to Camden or the Owls Head Transportation Museum. It was great to see nearly 1200 passengers and crew coming ashore. Rockland and Camden offer many shops, restaurants, museums and galleries. These two towns are a great stop for cruise ships as they offer a lot of choices to it's passengers, a chance to sample "Life the way it should Be" on the coast of Maine. Regatta will be paying Rockland another visit in October on their way to New York City from Montreal.

About Regatta:
Sleek, elegantly charming, Regatta is the Flagship of the Oceania Cruises fleet. Her decks are resplendent in the finest teak, custom stone and tile work and her lounges, suites and staterooms boast luxurious, neo-classical furnishings, Regatta offers every luxury you expect. Four unique, open seating restaurants, a world class fitness center and spa, 8 lounges and bars, casino and 342 lavish suites and luxurious staterooms, nearly 70% of which feature private verandas. And with just 684 guests to pamper, our 400 professionally trained European staff ensures you will want for nothing.Ship Specifications

Augusta, Maine - Seventeen Maine schools will share a nearly $25 million grant to build systems that recognize and reward great teachers and school leaders. The federal grant will be used to improve educator evaluation systems, reward effective teachers and principals, and provide greater professional opportunities.

“Both administrators and teachers want the same thing – fair and realistic measures for performance, professional development and help in improving teaching skills, and a system that rewards excellent teachers,” said Gov. Paul LePage. “This will allow more districts to engage in this work and more importantly, help them develop models that other Maine school districts can adopt or adapt for their needs.”

Already 18 schools in five school districts across Maine are doing similar work through the Maine Schools for Excellence program, which is funded through an earlier Teacher Incentive Fund grant. Teachers and administrators work together in those districts to develop evaluation instruments for their staff members that will take students' academic growth and achievement into account and offer teachers a constant stream of feedback about their practice from peers, supervisors, students and parents.

Maine is one two states and 33 school systems or non-profits to be approved for this new round of TIF grants, out of more than 120 applicants.

The work is closely aligned to the requirements of Governor LePage’s educator effectiveness bill, LD 1858, An Act To Ensure Effective Teaching and School Leadership, which passed in April 2012, and which requires school districts to develop or adopt high quality teacher and leader evaluation systems. These systems are to based on clear standards, incorporate multiple measures of effectiveness, including student achievement and growth, and are to be used to provide feedback for professional development.

“Systemic changes to standards, curricula, instructional practices and assessment will achieve little if efforts are not made to ensure that every learner has access to highly effective teachers and school leaders,” said Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen. “Indeed, as the governor has said repeatedly, no other school-based factor is more important to learner outcomes than the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders. That’s why this work is so important, and why it’s so important that we get it right.”

Participating districts will build performance pay compensation models utilizing the frameworks implemented under the existing Maine Schools for Excellence program. However, districts will have some flexibility in terms of specific incentive amounts and criteria for payouts.

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia-Today the Bluenose II was returned to the water after a nearly two year restoration project. In the early morning hours at the high tide she slipped back into the water at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
Bluenose II was designed around the original Bluenose, famous for her speed. All wooden vessels require regular maintenance. Through the years, Bluenose II began "hogging". Hogging is a term used to describe the distorting of the shape of the hull due to the forces of gravity and buoyancy. As the weight of the vessel pushes down, the water pushes up. The bow and the stern are pushed closer to the water. As the shape is distorted, it effects performance, safety and maintenance. Restoration work was done by the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance, consisting of Covey Island Boat Works, Snyder's Shipyard and Lunenburg Industrial Foundry & Engineering. Her hull was carefully dismantled and rebuilt to eliminate the "Hogging" Much of the original Bluenose II was reused including: rigging, masts, sails, ironwork, deck structures.
There is still work to do to return her masts and sails, but she is looking good and back in the cool blue Atlantic were she belongs.